No. 16 Maryland, Rutgers and Drexel on the Docket for Wrestling Saturday

NEW YORK - The Columbia wrestling team will kick off the
dual season Saturday with three matches at the Journeyman Wrestling/ASICS
Northeast Collegiate Duals in Troy, N.Y. The Lions will go head-to-head with No.
16 Maryland, Rutgers and Drexel in a trio of dual matches after beginning the
season with two invitationals.

Columbia is coming off two impressive performances at the
Michigan State Open and the New York State Wrestling Championships the past two
weekends. In East Lansing, the Lions had five wrestlers place, including
claiming three titles. The following weekend, Columbia had wrestlers place in
nine of ten weight classes in the 'A' tournament and another seven in the 'B'
tournament of the NYSC. Columbia tallied 152.5 points in the 'A' tournament to
finish second in the 21-team tournament.

No. 10 Steve Santos, No. 11 Jake O'Hara and No. 13 Stephen
West each won titles at both tournaments and each remains undefeated heading into
Saturday's competition.

Probable Starters

125 - Penn
Gottfried made his first appearance for the Lions at the NYSC going 3-2 and
taking fourth place. Gottfried's first victory was a tech fall (16-1) over
Army's Hunter Wood and then he faced Wood in a rematch three matches later,
knocking off his competitor from West point in a 10-1 major decision.

133 - Joe Moita
became the first Lion to compete at the 133-pound weight class this season,
finishing fourth at the NYSC 'A' tournament last weekend. Moita won four
consecutive matches in the consolation draw, including a major decision (11-3)
over Hunter's Kenneth Albert.

141 - Ryan Ponte
holds a 7-3 record after competing in the open division at the MSU Open and the
'B' tournament at the NYSC. Ponte won four matches at the NYSC, including an
8-0 major decision over Brockport's Joshua Brabon. Matt Bystol competed in the
'A' tournament at the NYSC going 1-2 with an 11-2 major decision over Niagara's
Brian Galuski.

149 - Steve
Santos cracks the AWN top-10 at 10th in this week's rankings after opening the
year with eight consecutive wins. The senior co-captain has won weight class
titles at the MSU Open and NYSC 'A' tournament. Of his eight wins this season,
Santos has one major decision and two pins.

157 - No. 11 Jake
O'Hara matches Santos with an 8-0 mark and two tournament titles this season.
O'Hara has a pair of major decisions that include a 12-3 win over Purdue's
Dustin Schultz and a 10-0 shutout of Niagara's Irvan Buck.

165 - Josh Houldsworth (5-1) and Adam Fondale (4-2) both enter the Northeast Duals with
winning records after placing at the NYSC. Houldsworth picked up five wins in
the 'A' tournament and notched his first pin of the season in 2:30 over USMMA's
Brandon Yeik. Fondale captured four wins in the 'B' tournament, including two
by way of pin.

174 - After
entering the season unranked, Stephen West has wrestled his way to a 9-0 record
and a No. 13 national ranking. West has recorded three pins and one major
decision en route to titles at the MSU Open and NYSC 'A' tournament.

184 - Shane
Hughes holds an even 4-4 record after the first two weeks of the 2012-13
campaign. Three of Hughes wins have come via pin. Drew Rebling took sixth in
the 'A' tournament at the NYSC with a pin over a pin over RIT's Adam Hughey.

197 - Nick Mills
has wrestled his way to a 7-3 record through his first 10 matches this season,
including a runner-up showing at the NYSC 'A' tournament. Mills has two pins
and a major decision already in 2012-13. Matt Idelson won the 'B' tournament
and takes a 5-2 mark into the weekend. Idelson won three matches via fall en
route to the title.

285 - Chris Manna
his 3-4 through the first two weeks after finishing seventh at the NYSC 'A'
tournament. Manna has earned a pin over Manchester's Jason Pedigo and a major
decision against Mount Saint Vincent's.